Modern motor vehicles include a roof panel and a side body panel that are joined together by a series of electric resistance welds which are formed at the bottom of a flanged structure extending along the mating edges of the roof panel and the side body panel. This structure creates a ditch at the juncture between the roof panel and the side panel that extends along the roof of the motor vehicle. A molding of flexible plastic is installed into the ditch to provide an esthetically pleasing appearance and also prevent dirt and foreign matter from residing in the ditch. The molding is often retained within the ditch by a series of molding clips that are mounded at the bottom of the ditch and have the molding inserted into the clips.
It would be desirable to provide a new and improved molding and molding clip that would allow the insertion of the molding into the clip with a minimal force to facilitate the vehicle assembly process. It would also be desirable that an improved molding and molding clip would enhance the centering of the molding within the ditch and provide highly reliable retention of the molding so that the molding is not released from the vehicle during the extremes of vehicle use, such as vibration of the vehicle and the forces applied to the molding by the rotating brushes in a car wash.